Comeback queen Maria Sharapova on the trophy trail again

RUSSIAN tennis star Maria Sharapova is back consistently vying for Grand Slam titles, but that is not nearly enough to satisfy her competitive hunger.

Sharapova, second seed for the Brisbane International which starts on Sunday, was a hugely consistent performer of the 2012 WTA season.

She won the French Open to complete a career Slam, reaching finals at the Australian Open, WTA championships and the London Olympics, and made a US Open semi-final.

But it is her record against her main rivals - notably world No.1 Victoria Azarenka and world No.3 Serena Williams - that is set to motivate Sharapova as she heads into her 13th year on the WTA tour.

Sharapova has not beaten Williams since 2004, losing their past nine matches and only once taking a set off the powerful US champion in their last six clashes.

Azarenka, too, has had the better of her in recent exchanges, the Belarusian winning four of their six contests this year and claiming victory three of the four times they met in a final, including at the 2012 Australian Open.

With Azarenka aged 23 and Sharapova 25, the rivalry between the blonde grunters could carry on for many more years.

"We both have many years ahead of us. I'm sure we will be facing against each other many more times in Grand Slams and other tournaments," Sharapova told reporters recently.

"She has the better record right now against me. Hopefully when I'm done I can change that around."

The simple fact Sharapova is back, fighting for Grand Slam titles and vying for the world No.1 ranking, is a credit to her ability to respond to injuries.

An ankle complaint meant she entered the Australian Open without any practice matches last January, but it was the shoulder surgery and extended layoff two years ago that had Sharapova fearing she may never get back to her best.

It is the realisation of the tough journey she has faced which made Sharapova's 2012 success all the more sweet.

"Oh, it's incredible. I mean, I try to get a sense of that perspective as much as possible because you can lose it so fast," she said.

"The grinding, the days, and the work that you put in and then the tournaments, everything kind of just happens. It's a groove. It's easy to forget where you came from and what you had to go through to get to that point.

"But when I do think about it, I'm so lucky that I get to play this sport, that I love playing it still, and that I feel like I have a lot in me.

"There is no better feeling than coming back from what I had to go through and not knowing if I was able to hit a serve again and to be in that position of being in the finals and being the world No.1 (for four weeks this year), I'm very happy."

Among the achievements for Sharapova in 2012 was the honour of carrying the Russian flag into the Olympic stadium for the opening ceremony in London.

But it was also at the Games she got a stark reminder of the power and dominance of Williams, when she lost the final 6-1, 6-0 at Wimbledon as the American continued her sublime second half of 2012.